Roger Stone, FAA, Border Wall: 3 Stories You Should Read 1/25/2019
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In the category of: When the predictable is still shocking.
Why Roger Stone’s stunning indictment is a huge moment in the Russia probe
(CNN)The indictment and arrest of longtime Donald Trump associate Roger Stone Friday morning in Florida fills in a big missing piece of the emerging picture that special counsel Robert Mueller is painting: The Trump campaign actively sought to communicate and coordinate with WikiLeaks in regard to stolen emails aimed at damaging Hillary Clinton’s campaign.
In the category of: Breaking point.
FAA Halts Some Flights To LaGuardia Airport, Citing Staffing Shortage
The Federal Aviation Administration said air traffic control staffing issues had led it to “adjust operations to a safe rate.”
Elected officials and union leaders have argued that the ongoing government shutdown puts flight passengers at risk. Many air traffic controllers and other staff members aren’t being paid, leading some to resign.
It’s not yet clear whether the increase in sick leave has anything to do with a worker strike, but unions representing all aviation workers on Wednesday called for action amid the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.
“It is unprecedented,” said the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, the Air Line Pilots Association and the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA. “This is already the longest government shutdown in the history of the United States and there is no end in sight. In our risk-averse industry, we cannot even calculate the level of risk currently at play, nor predict the point at which the entire system will break.”
In the category of: The trail to dictatorship.
White House Squatter Mulls Fake National Emergency to Secure Border Wall Funds
Citing Title 10 of the U.S. Code, Trump would be allowed access to monies not currently tied to spending contracts. Beyond DHS and the Pentagon, Trump would have the authority to pull from civil works and infrastructure projects, should any of their budgets be unspoken for.
The plan would deploy the United States Corps of Engineers to construct the eyesore, much of it on private land. While the plan acknowledges the likelihood of lawsuits to block its seizure of private lands, the plan contains language suggesting the use of waivers to override standing contracting law.
Trump’s administration could pool resources from surpluses in other budgets, including $681 million from Treasury forfeitures, $3 billion from Pentagon civil works funds, and $200 million from (wait for it) the Department of Homeland Security.
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